Kaikohe beat Kaitaia by 19 runs in a Twenty20 match on Sunday, in what was the first serious game of senior cricket played in Kaitaia College in quite some time.
While to state that cricket is back up and running in the Far North for the summer would be accurate, to say the game is alive and well risks stretching the realms of credibility. The visitors arrived with only three players and gratefully accepted the loan of some of the homeside players, which allowed the match to go ahead as a 7-a-side fixture. Kaikohe went in to bat first and were all out for 107 within their allotted 20 overs; while Kaitaia following on could only manage 86 runs all out. It should be noted there was some dispute over the final result, while the day's overall standout was Kaikohe captain and all-rounder Albi Vadayil taking four wickets.
Vadayil, who turned up in Kaitaia with Bibin Earnest and Jossy Thomas, noted that two of the trio had taken the day off work in order to play the game they loved. "Cost us a lot of money" said Vadayil. He said he did have a slightly larger core of players although most had been unavailable on Sunday. But the plan was to spread the word and encourage others in the Mid North township to throw their hat into the ring and join the side.
"We are trying to get the attention of the locals."
The hosts, meanwhile, turned up with 10 but like Kaikohe, had a few others waiting in the wings who were keen to play but had suddenly become unavailable after a big Saturday night. The obvious suggestion to avoid a repeat of this scenario by playing on Saturday instead was shut down by one stalwart who claimed, "We always play cricket on Sunday up here."
This match was the only game scheduled in round 2 of the inaugural men's Twenty 20 competition organised by the FNCA. But already two sides of the initial six registered are rumoured to be dropping out before the competition has even had a chance to get into stride.
Looking at the small group playing on the college bottom fields last weekend, it was hard to imagine cricket had once been a thriving sport in Kaitaia. Since it faded off the local sporting radar several years ago, attempts to reanimate the code by small but dedicated pockets of enthusiasts dotted sporadically across the region have given the game an almost cult-like status.
One of the most passionate crusaders is Peter Barnett, head honcho of the Far North Cricket Association. With summer looming, he has once again taken up a tireless campaign to promote the game at ground zero. A tad bashfully, he noted the competition had actually started two weeks ago but he had simply been too busy to notify the local media of this. Perhaps he was just keeping the cards close to his chest to see how various senior sides gained traction in terms of player numbers and wider community support as the new season wore on.
Barnett has certainly been committed to the cause. On Friday, he helped Sport Northland run their Kiwi Cricket Field Day for Year 3 to 6 students on Arnold Rae Park; on Saturday he was at Kaitaia Continued - page 11